Portable compact washing appliance



Jan. 5, 1960 E. SOLBACH PORTABLE COMPACT WASHING APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 19, 1957 lm/emar'. Maw, 89: WMJM RHORNE'J trived in the manner of a two-part suitcase.

United States Patent F PORTABLE CONIPACT WASHING APPLIANCE I Erich Solbach, Viersen, Rhineland, Germany I Application August 19, 1957, Serial No. 678,924 Claims priority, application Germany August 21, 1956 A Claims. (c1. 4-168) The invention relates to a portable compact washing appliancefor use when travelling, camping out, and on like occasions.

In a known form of washing outfit the casing is con- One part of the casing embodies a water tank, whereas the other i'sa cover hingeably attached to the same and contrived to serve as a wash basin. When the cover is closed the tank is partly contained in the cover, though leaving that this known form of construction is neither convenient nor sufiiciently reliable in practical use.

' The invention aims at providing a portable compact washing appliance that is free from the drawbacks attached to the form of construction already known to the 5 art.

The invention proposes to provide the wall of the tank which faces the inside of the cover with a tubular mouthpiece which extends into contact with the back of the cover in such manner that it will be sealed by the same.

The portable washing appliance according to the invention thus avoids the need of a tap which a user may easily forget to close after raising the tank for drawing off some of the water. In the washing appliance that has been described the tank is automatically sealed when the cover of the appliance is closed. This arrangement also simplifies manufacture and makes the washing appliance much more convenient to use.

It is preferred to secure the handle for carrying the case to the portion forming the tank, because this induces the user to deposit the case so that the tank will be at the bottom and to swing open the cover in the same way as when opening a trunk, rather than to place the appliance with its cover face down and to swing open the tank, in which case the water would prematurely run out.

The wall of the tank to which the mouthpiece is fitted may be provided with a frame with divisions for holding washing utensils, and adapted likewise to be closed by the cover. A preferred arrangement is to secure the carrying handle to one of the two narrow ends of the tank at right angles to the side which has the hinge. When the case is up-ended it will then be deposited on the side remote from the carrier end, the only side which is entirely free from all fittings, and in the event of a leakage from the end of the mouthpiece the water will not then wet the washing utensils. As an additional precaution the mouthpiece may be located at that corner of the wall of the tank which is nearest the hinges and the carrying handle.

The accompanying drawings exemplify the subject matter of the invention in an illustrative embodiment. In these drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a washing appliance when opened for use,

Patented Jan. 5, 1960 Fig. 2 is a side view of the washing appliance shown in Fig. 1, the drawing indicating the manner of manipulating the tank and the position of the parts when the case is closed.

Hingeably attached to a water tank 1 by means of a hinge 8 is a cover 2 which serves as a wash basin. When the appliance is closed about half the height of the tank is contained within the cover 2. When the appliance is open the back of the cover is level with the floor of the tank. On the narrow side opposite that which carries the hinge is a snap-action lever type catch 9, whereas one of the narrow ends at right angles thereto is fitted with a carrying handle 10. Rising in that corner of the wall of the tank which is nearest the hinge and the handle is a tubular mouthpiece 3 of which the mouth or lip is provided with a rubber sealing washer or rim 3a, the height of the mouthpiece being equal to the distance between the inside back of the cover, and the top of the tank. Secured to the top of the tank is a frame 4 made of a sheet metal strip which forms divisions in the clearance gap between the cover 2 and the tank. These divisions provide receptacles for such utensils as a towel 5, a cake of soap 6, and a brush 7.

When the washing appliance has been opened, water for washing can be discharged into the cover 2, as indicated in Fig. 2, by raising the tank 1 on its hinge 8. After washing, the user can detach the cover 2 from its hinge 8 on the tank 1 in a manner that is already known, pour out the used water, replace the cover, and close it again, so that it will assume the position shown in Fig. 2 in dotted lines. When the snap-lever lock 9 is secured the cover 2 will be pulled tightly against the end of the mouthpiece 3 and thereby seal it. Some clearance is provided between the top of the frame 4 and the inside of the cover 2, said clearance being sufficiently large to ensure that the creation of a tight seal between the mouthpiece 3 and the cover will not be impeded, but not large enough to allow the washing utensils to slip out of place.

What I claim is:

l. A portable washing appliance comprising, in combination, a water tank having a top region and an outlet opening in said top region; a basin-shaped cover; hinge means hingedly securing said basin-shaped to said water tank turnably between a closing position in which said basin-shaped cover envelops said top region of said water tank and the outlet opening therein and an operative position in which said basin-shaped cover is turned into a water-receiving. position uncovering said outlet opening, whereby after swinging of said basin-shaped cover from said closing into said operative position thereof said water tank may be swung about said hinge means into water-discharging position with said outlet opening thereof located above said basin-shaped cover, discharging water into the same; resiliently deformable sealing means associated with said opening and extending to and into contact with the inner face of said cover when same is in said closing position so as to become compressed by said cover when in said closing position, in such a manner as to sealingly close said opening; and securing means operable to secure said cover in said closing position wherein it seals said opening.

2. A portable washing appliance comprising, in combination, a water tank having a bottom, a correspondingly shaped top closure plate, and corresponding side walls interconnecting the bottom and the top closure plate; an outlet neck provided on said top closure plate; a resiliently deformable sealing means for said outlet neck; a basin-shaped cover; hinge means hingedly securing said basin-shaped cover to a portion of said side walls of the tank turnably between a closing position in which said basin-shaped cover envelopes said top region of said water tank while pressing said sealing means against said neck to sealingly close said outlet neck and an operative position in which said basin-shaped cover is turned into a water-receiving position uncovering said outlet neck, whereby after swinging of said basin-shaped cover from said closing into said operative position thereof said water tank maybe swung about said hinge means into water-discharging position with said outlet neck thereof located above said basin-shaped cover, discharging water into the same; and securing means operable to secure said cover in said closing position wherein it sealingly closes said outlet neck.

3. The portable washing appliance according to claim 2, wherein said water tank is of substantially rectangular shape, with said outlet neck disposed in one corner portion of said top closure plate adjacent to said hinge means for the basin shaped cover, and a carrying handle for the appliance located on the side wall of the tank which is adjacent to said outlet neck and extends between said hinge means and said securing means.

4. A portable washing appliance comprising, in combination, a water tank having a bottom, a correspondingly shaped top closure plate, and a corresponding side wall structure interconnecting the bottom and the top closure plate; an outlet neck provided on said top closure plate; a resiliently deformable sealing means for said outlet neck, said outlet neck being disposed adjacent to the side of the tank; a basin-shaped cover fitting in closing position on said top region of said water tank enveloping the same while pressing said sealing means against said neck to sealingly close said outlet neck, said basin-shaped cover having a bottom; hinge means hingedly securing said basin-shaped cover to a portion of said side wall structure adjacent to said outlet neck turnably from said closing position thereof into an operative position in which said basin-shaped cover is turned upside down with its bottom located in substantially the same plane as said bottom of said water tank uncovering said outlet neck,

whereby after swinging of said basin-shaped cover from said closing into said operative position thereof, said Water tank may be swung about said hinge means while supported by said basin-shaped cover into water-discharging position with said outlet neck thereof located above said basin-shaped cover, discharging water into the same; and securing means operable to secure said cover in said closing position wherein it sealingly closes said outlet neck.

5. A portable washing appliance comprising, in combination, a water tank having a bottom and a top region; a basin-shaped cover fitting in closing position on said top region of said water tank enveloping the same; outlet means on said water tank arranged in said top region thereof and extending to and into contact with the inner face of said basin-shaped cover when the same is in said closing position thereof, so that said outlet means is closed by said basin-shaped cover in said closing position thereof; and hinge means hingedly securing said basinshaped cover to said water tank turnably from said closing position thereof into an operative position in which said basin-shaped cover is turned upside down, uncovering said outlet means in said top region of said water tank, whereby after swinging of said basin-shaped cover from said closing into said operative position thereof, said water tank may be swung about said hinge means while supported by said basin-shaped cover into water-discharging position with said outlet means thereof located above said basin-shaped cover, discharging into the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,289,225 Montan Dec. 31, 1918 2,750,066 Shekter June 12, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 685,828 France Apr. 7, 1930 

